The art of medicine

A new online exhibition called ‘Our First Year Heard’ has been launched, comprising creative responses to their experiences of studying in a pandemic, in a vibrant mix of submissions and styles – from poems and drawings to digital art, sculpture and paintings.

The collection has been curated by Louis Davenport, now in his second year of studying medicine at the University of Bristol. Davenport was inspired to set up the exhibition before the lockdown of autumn 2021, when he invited his fellow medics to reflect on their own personal experiences of a course that is known to be as challenging as it is extensive.

Seen in the light of Covid, with learning largely confined to the online sphere, the expected pressures of a medical degree were further exacerbated.

“Medicine students support each other through the tough times,” Davenport reflects. “Over five years you get to know each other really well and those friendships help you through – that’s more difficult when you are confined to your room.”

There are recurrent themes of self-care, lockdown isolation, imposter syndrome and mental health in the artwork submitted to the exhibition. Given that these students have devoted themselves primarily to the pursuit of scientific subjects, the artistic skill and candour on show has been a revelation to many – among them Ashley Blom, Head of Bristol Medical School: Their ability to express their thoughts and emotions through such evocative art is beautiful,” he remarks.

Desk Day – image: Ellie Harrison

As the pandemic continues to unfold, the pressures on students are still significant. Students at the University of Bristol are invited to access 24/7 wellbeing support – including impartial advice, self-help resources, peer groups and counselling – from the University’s Wellbeing page.

For Davenport, there are positives to be gained from a year that no one could have envisaged. “I hope our first year will make us better doctors and more resilient,” he says. “I think it’s going to produce a different skillset, one that is better equipped for digital consultations.”

Bristol 24/7 takes a look at some of the works in the exhibition below, alongside excerpts from the notes accompanying each piece.

Izzy Godfrey – Broken Bristol

My creative piece is based around the wellbeing medical students in the pandemic. For most first-year students, coming to Bristol in September last year was their first time moving away from home, and for many, Bristol was a completely unknown city. It is hard to move away from familiarity at any time in life, let alone in a pandemic when the circumstances you are in make it difficult for you to get to know the city and the people in it. This has led to many students feeling lonely, isolated and with no sense of belonging.

After finishing my artwork, I cut it up suspending the individual pieces slightly apart from one another. The slight distance the pieces are from one another represents the 2 x metres we have to keep away from each other, both to strangers in the street but also to our peers. The cutting up of the pieces also makes the cityscape of Bristol harder to recognise and the picture more difficult to comprehend, indicative of how hard it is to get to know a city and its people during a pandemic.

Broken_Bristol – image: Izzy Godfrey

Beck Iloghalum – Snatched Expectations

The person in the centre is supposed to depict a first-year medical student, shown by the ‘1’s and the stethoscope around the neck. The blood shot eyes and the upside frown on top of the mask shows the difficulty the student is having, trying to present as okay and fit into the stereotype of being ‘a medical student’. This stereotype being – a student who is absolutely perfect, a student that doesn’t know the meaning of the word pressure and has enough time to balance work and social life. A student who achieves high grades in every exam and displays excellent mental health. A student whose only goal is to become a doctor and has no doubts about the degree they chose at all. Such a stereotype is virtually impossible to achieve and yet it seems like that is expected of us by family and friends.

Snatched Expectations – image: Beck Iloghalum

Group 20 – Disconnected

We have used a variety of art forms, combining these in a film to present an online consultation alongside the internal monologue of a patient feeling unheard and undervalued due to these barriers.

Mental health has become an increasingly prevalent topic of conversation, especially in the times that we live in. Feelings of isolation are amplified, leaving those that struggle with mental health illnesses more vulnerable than ever. The portrayal of bad connection can be taken literally and figuratively. The patient struggles with bad internet connectivity, but also finds it tough to communicate effectively with the doctor. At the end of the day, both patient and doctor understand that they must work within the constraints of restrictions, both hoping for an improvement in time.

Katy Glenn – Volunteering at a vaccine clinic

In the early vaccine clinics in December, many of the patients were overwhelmed with emotion, often so grateful and happy to be receiving a vaccine, and at times tearful because of the intensity of the relief that they were feeling.

My experience at the vaccine clinic highlighted the uniqueness of everybody’s emotions around having medical treatment and interventions. It showed me that you can learn a lot about how someone is really feeling about something, despite what they may be reflecting on the outside, by listening to them and trying to understand as much as you can about their own personal situation.

Volunteering at a Vaccine Clinic – image: Katy Glenn

Our First Year Heard is available to view online now at www.outofourheads.net.

Main photo: Group 24

Read more: Grayson’s Art Club arrives at Bristol Museum

Listen to the latest episode of the Bristol 24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: